Unemployment numbers mixed

Fri, 27 Jan 2012 12:15:16 CST

By: AP

    Unemployment dropped in five of Illinois' 12 metro areas and increased in five others during December when compared to a year earlier. The biggest decrease was in the Peoria area. Unemployment there dropped from 8.7% to 8.1%. Bloomington's rate increased .2 to 7%.
     The Illinois Department of Employment Security says in its monthly report on metro unemployment that one of the biggest increases was in the Chicago-Joliet-Naperville area where the rate jumped from 8.6% to 9.3%. That increase was matched in the Illinois section of the St. Louis area where unemployment rose from 9% to 9.7%.
     Seven of the 12 metro areas added jobs in December. Manufacturing was a key driver, increasing in nine metro areas.
     The department said last week that the state's overall unemployment rate was 9.8% in December.